Why aren't you struggling?

I was watching a video my youngest daughter made and posted today. And I had a realization. People always say to us…” you’re so strong…why do you smile and make it look easy…how with all you have gone through…life is such a struggle…”

No, it is not. That’s it. It is a struggle when you fight it. There are expectations we have in life. So, for me, I thought that because I got married young and had a large family that they would all grow up, go to school, make lives for themselves and I would, with my husband, have a nice rest of our lives visiting grandchildren, traveling, have a house full for the holiday. That was the “expectation.” The reality was so far from that truth, it did take me a little while to believe it. But what I learned was to observe, to understand, to learn. So here is the equation.

Expectation – observation = frustration. We don’t have to live with this equation. We must put observation first. Meaning give yourself a reality check. Observe the actual life you are living. Appreciate what you do have. At least all the good parts. Understand that sometimes we get off course, for whatever reason, and life takes us in a different direction. That which is meant to be…Observe where you are going, love the journey, love who is with you. We take so much for granted and expect that everything we thought or everything we though we wanted will happen. No usually so.

That’s where we become frustrated and stuck. We are saddened, angry, and hurt. Our expectations were not met. But what happens if you set goals and hopes without a solid expectation? I don’t mean just live like Mary Poppins and go where the wind takes you (though sometimes I think that’s exactly who I am…) But observe what is working and what is not. That will allow you to be less frustrated because there will be less emotion attached to the expectation. And life will not be such a struggle. Don’t spend your life swimming upstream or caught in a riptide you can’t get out of. It’s all about the perception. When your view, or perception, comes from a place of fear it becomes unmanageable. But when it comes from a place of observance, then you can approach it with a clear mind. You will be able to see a way out. Find a way for change.

GO WITH THE FLOW. You never know where that will take you, but I can promise it will be where you were meant to be.

@ Steeped In Health, 408 North Country Rd. St James, NY 11780 631 909 2700